Rewards of volunteering (for Rogue River Cleanup) greater than ever

Rockford resident Andrew Kersting is an old hand at helping the Rogue River be its best. Kersting began his annual Rogue River Cleanup in May, 2005, after realizing at a young age that life can be short and you need to do what you can while you can.

Kersting has scheduled this year’s Cleanup for Saturday, May 30 and hopes others who love the river will turn up to help out. This year, volunteers will again enjoy the pizza party donated generously by B.C. Pizza after the mornings work. Water and trash bags are always donated by Rockford D&W Fresh Market, and the City of Rockford picks up the bagged trash afterwards.

But wait, there’s more. This year volunteers will be further be rewarded by being entered into a drawing for a four-pack of tickets to the West Michigan White Caps. Only those who attend the event will be eligible for the drawing.

In its sixth year, the Cleanup crew has seen a lot ofdebris and made the river a much cleaner environment for its recreational users as well as its wildlife. Each year Kersting is proud of the workers who turn up with or without waders, and ready to haul trash. The job would be quicker and better if a few more folks help out.

This year Kersting hooked up with environmental students at Grand Valley State University, and they gave him some tips on how to promote the project, including the ticket giveaway.

Registration for the project is from 9:30 to 10 a.m. at Richardson-Sowerby Park off the White Pine Trail. Parking is available in the public parking lot off South Main Street behind Powers Outdoors. Volunteers should wear boots or waders and a good comfortable pair of gloves for picking up litter.

To find out more call Kersting at (616) 866-5896 or e-mail him at andrew@TheRogueRiverProject.org.

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